The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
EXCLUSIVE: Jihadi Trends: What Is On The Horizon In 2024?
The Hamas attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, has reinvigorated jihadi groups such as the Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Qaeda, which are reprioritizing the cause of "Palestine" and the fight against the "Jews" and their "Crusader" allies as a key foundation of their messaging campaigns which aims at expanding their global threat landscape.
On February 2, 2024, a new English-language Telegram channel published its first post.
A Telegram channel linked to Iran-backed militias reported that two senior leaders of Hizbullah Brigades In Iraq were killed in a U.S. airstrike that targeted their vehicle in Baghdad.
In a major article in the latest edition of the "Voice of Khurasan," an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), Islamic State (ISIS) Spokesman Abu Hudhayfah Al-Ansari, responding to the Hamas-Israel war in Gaza, calls for an all-out religious war against Jews.
On February 3, 2024, an Al-Qaeda associate and writer published an article on his blog site titled "Fleeing from the Failed War on Gaza to Total War on The Middle East."
Iran-Backed Islamic Resistance In Iraq Claims Drone Attack Against Port Of Haifa In Northern Israel
On February 1, 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed joint operations group of Iraqi militias, published a statement on Telegram claiming a same-day drone attack against the port of Haifa in northern Israel.
On February 1, 2024, local media outlets in Iraq reported that the Head of the Iraqi government-sponsored Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) whose members include several Iran-backed militias, received the Russian ambassador to Baghdad in his office.
Leaders of two Iran-backed militias in Iraq announced that their groups would continue to attack U.S. forces in the region until Israel ceases its war in Gaza and the U.S. forces withdraw from Iraq.
On February 2, 2024, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted airstrikes in Iraq and Syria against over 85 targets.
On February 2, 2024, the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that its forces had conducted airstrikes earlier that day against over 85 targets of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Quds Force and affiliated militias, including command and control operations centers, intelligence centers, rocket, missile, and unmanned aerial vehicle storage sites, and logistics and munition supply chain facilities.
Iran-Backed 'Islamic Resistance In Iraq' Claims February 4 Drone Attack On U.S. Base In Syria
On February 4, 2024 the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella organization consisting of several Iran-backed militias in Iraq claimed responsibility for a drone attack on the U.S. base at Al-Omar oil field in Syria's Deir Al-Zour governorate.
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Iran-Backed Islamic Resistance In Iraq Claims Drone Attack On Israel's Eilat
On February 5, 2024, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed joint operations group of Iraqi militias, published a statement claiming a drone attack against the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
On February 3, 2024, an Arabic-language Telegram channel affiliated with Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a statement announcing it will abide by the directives of the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) to limit its communications to officially approved security sources in Iraq.
Pro-Hizbullah Website Reveals Arsenal Of Hizbullah's Artillery Unit
On February 2, 2024, a pro-Lebanese website published an article detailing the composition of the group's artillery arsenal. This report is based on the article.
On February 1, 2024, Hamas's "Office of Martyrs, Prisoners and the Wounded" announced it had launched an Arabic-language online platform which specializes in collecting and verifying data on prisoners in Israeli prisons.
On February 2, 2024, the armed forces of the Yemeni Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for firing several ballistic missiles at "specific targets" in the southern Israeli city of Eilat.
On February 3, 2024, a Houthi-run Telegram channel posted a 44-minute video depicting a military exercise carried out by units from "reserve and central intervention forces" of the Yemeni armed forces.
On February 6, 2024, the armed forces of the Yemeni Houthi Ansar Allah movement claimed responsibility for "two military operations in the Red Sea – the first of which targeted the American ship Star Nasia, while the second was aimed at the British ship Morning Tide – with "appropriate naval missiles."
On February 1, 2024, the Islamic State (ISIS) released Issue 428 of its official newsletter, Al-Naba', which included an editorial arguing that ISIS's establishment of an Islamic caliphate drew the envy of other Islamist and jihadi factions that had fought against it and allied with Western powers.
In recent days, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) has claimed several attacks targeting army and police forces in northeastern Nigeria, including mass-casualty assaults against pro-government militias.
On February 5, 2024, a pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Telegram channel released a short article emphasizing the importance of strategic deception in warfare.
UK-Based Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Group Continues To Raise Funds For Gaza
On February 3, 2024, the Telegram channel of an Islamist group based in Birmingham in the UK, which has promoted the Islamic State (ISIS), announced that the Muslims in Need (MiN) charity linked to the channel had sourced 3,000 cartons of baby formula in the Jabalia area of the northern Gaza Strip.
On February 7, 2024, the Islamic State (ISIS) Pakistan Province claimed killing and wounding dozens in two bombings targeting election offices in the country's Balochistan province, the day before general elections in the country.
A key article in the latest edition of an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), says that democracy constitutes unbelief.
A Pashtu-language booklet published by the Islamic State Khurasan Province (ISKP) says that the de facto government of Afghanistan (the Afghan Taliban regime) "is a project of the United States of America and the unbelievers" who want to achieve their goals through the Taliban rulers.
The cover article in the latest issue of an English-language monthly magazine published by Al-Azaim Media Foundation, a media outlet linked to the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP), which defines itself as a supporting entity for the Islamic State (ISIS), urges Muslims to "join the true mujahideen" in order "to free Palestine and all Muslim lands from occupation," and questions Hamas for its motives in starting the war October 7 war against Israel.
On January 31, 2024, a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric called for Hamas leaders to be prosecuted for facilitating what he called "genocide in Gaza."
On February 5 and 6, 2024, a pro-Al-Qaeda cleric shared on his X and Telegram accounts a series of posts harshly criticizing Hamas's leadership, accusing it of not properly considering Israel's qualitative edge over Hamas before carrying out the October 7, 2023 massacre in southern Israel, or the attack's potential consequences.
On February 4, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the Sahel, the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (GSIM), claimed the group's fighters had ambushed the Malian Army in Masina region.
On February 3-6, 2024, Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel, Jama'at Nusrat Al-Islam Wal-Muslimeen (the Group for Support of Islam and Muslims – GSIM), claimed attacks against Nigerien troops in Western Niger Tillaberi region and Togolese troops in Togo's northern Dapaong region.
On February 1, 2024, Telegram channels affiliated with Idlib-based Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) reported that the group's leader, Abu Mohammad Al-Joulani, held a meeting with the group's Shura Council and the HTS-backed Salvation Government, in which he promised to introduce reforms to HTS security and judicial authorities.
On December 31, 2023, the Syrian branch of the Turkestan Islamic Party (TIP), an Uyghur jihadi group active in Afghanistan and Syria, released a ten-minute 41-second video in the Uyghur language titled "Abandoned Gaza and Forgotten East Turkestan," via its Islam Awazi [Voice of Islam] official media outlet.
On January 31, 2024, Al-Mirsaad Media, which is believed to be run unofficially by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA, i.e., the Afghan Taliban) and consistently carries articles in favor of the Taliban rulers, published an article on its Dari-language website, saying that Europeans created Israel because they "were not safe from the evil of Jews."
In a 32-minute Urdu-language audio podcast, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP, or the Movement of Pakistani Taliban), the militant organization seeking to establish an Islamic state in Pakistan, has issued a stark warning to Pakistan army chief General Asim Munir, saying that "jihad in Pakistan is the bedrock of Afghanistan's stability, and true peace for the latter can only be achieved by toppling the Pakistani state."
